🌐 Location: Ota ward, Tokyo
Today we are still in Tokyo, in a part that’s mostly known for the Haneda Airport which is located there. Indeed, the official name for today’s event is “Haneda International Basho”.
An update on the sick list: Chiyonoumi is once again off the Torikumi, Yoshikaze is back on it.
We have already seen rikishi arrive early in the morning, eyes blurry, getting off busses, etc. But who are these two elegant gentlemen showing up at the venue? Are they lawyers? Doctors?
No, those are in fact these two gentlemen and co-workers from Kokoknoe beya:
Namely, yobidashi Shigeru, and Gyoji Kimura Konosuke. And Konosuke looks spiffy in his usual red kimono, and… what’s this, a tantō?
We are always told that only a tate-gyoji (that is, either Kimura Shonosuke or Shikimori Inosuke) wear a tanto – the short sword tucked into the left side of the belt. This is a symbolic expression of the gyoji’s commitment to perform seppuku if he misjudges a bout. So what is Konosuke doing wearing one? He is a mere san-yaku gyoji, there is not a hint of purple in his laces!
The answer to that is that while san-yaku gyoji do not wear tanto during bouts, they do wear it when they accompany a Yokozuna dohyo-iri. And it’s Konosuke’s turn today to accompany Kakuryu’s dohyo-iri.
But we are getting ahead of ourselves. Let’s rewind. Back to the hand-shaking corner of the venue, where the Iwasaki brothers are showing us their muscles:
At one side of the venue, Abi is working out with Shodai. Well, kind of:
Shohozan is doing suri-ashi and manages to frighten the NSK’s SNS team:
Kotoeko is also working on his lower body:
Enho is also near one of the walls, having a quiet morning workout with Tobizaru:
But Enho has got to be the most popular wrestler in the top two divisions, because we shortly find him also serving as Mitakeumi’s teppo pole:
The little teppo pole turns all rebellious all of a sudden.
Perhaps the most impressive Enho practice pic of the day is this one:
The size difference between these two is enormous. Ichinojo is slightly bigger than two Enhos combined.
Next to the dohyo, Takayasu decides to give Onosho some personal tutoring.
I mean, close personal tutoring:
That is, very close, and very personal tutoring:
OK, well, they actually were practicing sumo there. Suri-ashi, for example:
He was also teaching him his new move:
We will reveal to you in a day or two what the secret move is! But in the meantime, let’s look at some practice bouts: Ryuden-Aoiyama, Asanoyama-Hokutofuji. Followed by a short glimpse of Hakuho and Takayasu who are not doing any on-dohyo practice at the moment.
With practice over, the rikishi head for the showers, which happen to be on-location this time. This means a great line of fans waiting outside of the shower.
Time for the Juryo dohyo-iri. And this time Enho is on the East side (not that he participates in the torikumi or anything), which makes Chiyomaru on the West lonely. He has no one to bump into… except Daiamami:
By the way, this day is Chiyomaru’s birthday! This has to be the reason why the only bout I have is his bout with Kotoyuki:
Kotoyuki sends the birthday boy almost into the arms of the awaiting Makuuchi wrestlers down the hana-michi.
Chiyomaru hurries out to celebrate his birthday with some cake, which the reporters have promised him. And in his hurry, he doesn’t notice he has interrupted a significant moment:
That moment which he has interrupted is the moment in which Kasugaryu hands over his bow to Shohoryu, who is wearing an oicho-mage for the first time and is about to perform his first yumi-tori shiki.
But that let’s see what kind of birthday celebration Chiyomaru gets.
Ah, this kind:
Congratulations, round one! Now it’s time for Makuuchi dohyo-iri and Yokozuna dohyo-iri.
But it’s hard to be a Yokozuna when everybody around you, including your tsukebito, tsuyuharai and tachi-mochi, exchange jokes and laugh out loud, and you are the only one who has to control his face:
Now all the Makuuchi wrestlers can get ready for their bouts. Like, for example, Nishikigi and Ryuden
Interesting way to pass the time. But not as interesting as Shodai’s way:
Poor Asakura.
The two clowns are everywhere. Ichinojo suddenly has a mind to get friendly with Shodai. Shodai is not in the mood to be crushed right before his bout:
Luckily for him, somebody calls out “Ichinojo zeki”. He immediately points out to Ichinojo that a fan of his has arrived:
Ichinojo complies, and puts on his fansa face:
We are not done with Nishikigi. He is still in the joi, so that means he waits for his bout a long time. And that means a lot of mischief. This time the victim is pretty Toshonishiki:
Again, recall that Nishikigi has the strongest armpits in Makuuchi. I wouldn’t want to trade places with poor Toshonishiki.
What does the expression on Onosho’s face mean? Is he admiring Abi’s shiko? Or is he preparing a salt-laden ladle? You be the judge.
Just to prove to you that Hakuho is not alone in being chased by the fans, here is Kakuryu on the way to his bout:
He certainly doesn’t need to find something to keep him busy during the wait.
Finally, as anticipated, let’s take a look at Shohoryu’s debut yumi-tori shiki:
Green, very green. He’ll need to learn how to wear a kesho-mawashi – his fundoshi is showing through. And he had a few mistakes here and there. But he is better than Kasugaryu at passing the bow behind his back.
And I leave off with the pin-up of the day – Asanoyama:
Another good one, Herouth. Thanks very much. In that short clip of Hakuho signing autographs, he appears to be making a very unconvincing effort to go incognito.
Wow, Konosuke looks so different in civilian clothes. Also, he wears glasses? Doesn’t he need them for his judging duties?
Maybe he has contacts but feels uncomfortable wearing them constantly.
But still so dapper! I wondered about the glasses too.
Shame on me for not recognising Konosuke without his gyoji attire.
I kinda expected Chiyomaru to be around enough mischief in his time to know that someone slinking around in your peripheral vision means something’s gonna happen. I guess the cake he was holding was a nice distraction. Hokutofuji picked his moment well.
That photo of Ichinojo and Enho is mind-blowing – it almost doesn’t look real.
Well the perspective kind of exaggerates that one, but the size difference between these two is indeed tremendous. Makes me wonder how Enho will do in Makuuchi against those giants. Personally I think guys like Ichinojo and Aoiyama will simply blast him out of the dohyo but I’m ready to be surprised.
I think his first visit to Makuuchi is probably going to be a disaster. But when he gains some experience, there is no reason why it shouldn’t look like this, at least occasionally:
Would be a joy to see some small guy do as well as Mainoumi again. However the past and present shows that lighter guys are at a great disadvantage in the top division, even insanely skilled (and strong for their size) individuals like Mainoumi and Enho.
Shodai, what are you doing?!
In the phrase “Ichinojo zeki!” What exactly does “zeki” mean? Is it related to the rank Ozeki?
You may know that in Japan you have to add an honorific to the name of any person you address. It’s usually “san”, but there are occasions when it’s different. You may address someone very highly ranked as “sama”. Or address little girls with “chan” etc.
Well, the honorific for sekitori – anybody in Juryo and above – is “zeki”. It’s a voiced version of the “seki” from “sekitori”. “Seki” is literally “barrier”. “Sekitori” literally means “One who took (and passed) the barrier”. And “Ozeki” is “Big Barrier”.
Thank you so much. The picture seemed to imply that “zeki” meant quit screwing around and be serious (you know, sumo decorum). I suppose that was intended as humor. I thought it funny anyway
Oh, all I meant in the text was that Shodai heard one of Ichinojo’s fans calling out to him.
It’s an honorific- like -san, -chan, -sama, etc- used for sekitori.
http://www.sumoforum.net/glossary.html#Z (This glossary is an excellent resource, btw. Super helpful.)